GA Russell Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 BeBop, apparently you are new to prayer (if this concept is new to you)! Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 "No" can be a wonderful answer. Quote
BeBop Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Posted October 1, 2012 "No" can be a wonderful answer. Absolutely! I've been reading the Forbes magazine with brief bios on the 400 richest Americans. (This year's list is focused on philanthropic works - no surprise there.) When I read about all the people who seemingly never go without (anything money can buy anyway), just by virtue of their luck in parents, it's amazing. This isn't a slam on the rich, per se. But the whole silver spoon thing... The lesson here, in my experience, is the harder you work, the better your "prayers" work. Sometimes. But when loved ones become terminally ill, I say my little non-denominational, non-directed "prayers". Quote
fasstrack Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) "No" can be a wonderful answer. Absolutely! I've been reading the Forbes magazine with brief bios on the 400 richest Americans. (This year's list is focused on philanthropic works - no surprise there.) ...just by virtue of their luck in parents, it's amazing. This isn't a slam on the rich, per se. But the whole silver spoon thing... I don't recall ever being jealous of rich people. I'd like an easier life, but I chose to be a musician-no one forced me. I'm deliriously happy doing what I do, and so poor I'm not even 'po'-can't even afford the first 'o'. But I'm saving (;. If I need more money I can get a job. I couldn't prove it, but based on what I've observed, say, at gigs playing for the rich when they come round the stand they seem jealous of the musicians-or at least amazed at what we do and how much fun it is. But 'one never knows, do one?' Edited October 1, 2012 by fasstrack Quote
jlhoots Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Jim Morrison. Edited October 1, 2012 by Jazzmoose Quote
Shawn Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Jim Morrison. That's the opening of "The Soft Parade", right? Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Jim Morrison. That's the opening of "The Soft Parade", right? I thought it was on a Roberta Flack record. MG Quote
gmonahan Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 The answer was "no". You probably asked the wrong deity. Now, if you'd addressed your plea to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it would have soothed your fevered brow with its noodly appendage. gregmo Quote
BruceH Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Jim Morrison. That's the opening of "The Soft Parade", right? Yes, I believe it is. I prayed for that album to be good. There's a "no" for you. Quote
Tim McG Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 To wit: When I was back there in seminary school There was a person there Who put forth the proposition That you can petition the Lord with prayer Petition the Lord with prayer Petition the Lord with prayer You cannot petition the Lord with prayer Quote
BeBop Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Posted October 1, 2012 I don't pray, I demand. And how's that working? Quote
Jazzmoose Posted October 3, 2012 Report Posted October 3, 2012 "You cannot petition the lord with prayer". Forgot who said that. Jim Morrison. That's the opening of "The Soft Parade", right? Yes, I believe it is. I prayed for that album to be good. There's a "no" for you. Yeah, well, he warned you right up front... Quote
PHILLYQ Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 I forget who, but some pundit said that to believe in prayer, one must believe God is a cosmic bellhop. Quote
JSngry Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 otoh, one can use "prayer" as a form of directed meditation, a way to find the centeredness to be able to deal with...whatever, be it by effecting an action, accepting an outcome, instilling/sustaining hope, resilience in the face of adversity, all kinds of things. It's not all/always Letter To Santa Claus...fundamentalist/skeptic stereotypes to the contrary. That's the easy way out. Quote
Matthew Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 otoh, one can use "prayer" as a form of directed meditation, a way to find the centeredness to be able to deal with...whatever, be it by effecting an action, accepting an outcome, instilling/sustaining hope, resilience in the face of adversity, all kinds of things. It's not all/always Letter To Santa Claus...fundamentalist/skeptic stereotypes to the contrary. That's the easy way out. Hey, only cartoon christianity is allowed to be discussed here. Quote
JSngry Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 Cartoon "faith" in general, actually...it's ok, I like cartoons. A lot. But I don't model my life-view on them. Quote
sonnymax Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 "Prayer. The last refuge of a scoundrel." - Lisa Simpson Quote
JSngry Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 "Prayer. The last refuge of a scoundrel." - Lisa Simpson "If you can't beat 'em with your own cynicism, use an appeal to a Simpsons reference." - Jim Sangrey Quote
BeBop Posted October 4, 2012 Author Report Posted October 4, 2012 otoh, one can use "prayer" as a form of directed meditation, a way to find the centeredness to be able to deal with...whatever, be it by effecting an action, accepting an outcome, instilling/sustaining hope, resilience in the face of adversity, all kinds of things. Agree. I guess that's the vantage point from which I started this thread. I'm non-religious. I've got a loved one dying. Prayer gives me something to do, and, as a non-religious person, I can't "do it wrong". If I was religious, though, I'd have a tough time convincing myself that my desired outcome is somehow better than whatever "God" had in mind. Quote
JSngry Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 ...I've got a loved one dying. Prayer gives me something to do, and, as a non-religious person, I can't "do it wrong". If I was religious, though, I'd have a tough time convincing myself that my desired outcome is somehow better than whatever "God" had in mind. That's always tough, and I'm finding death to be like birth - don't ever expect the same experience twice. Kind of appropriate, I suppose... FWIW/IMO - It's not about "better than" nearly as much as it is processing the reality in a way that allows you to not go bat-shit crazy. Obviously, that happens to "religious" and "non-religious" people in about equal measure. The "religious" people hang it on "God", the "non-religious" hang it on rationality, Lisa Simpson can blame her writers, and the rest of us just try to keep going and not leave it worse than it was when we found it. Some days, of course, are better than others. Life still goes on, so that should tell you something, although hell if I know exactly what. Quote
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